Bree Cullen, My Daughter
by Aeshna Lacrymosa
Summary: It was almost Renesmée's first birthday when Bree leaves the Cullen house without warning. Carlisle, who managed to save Bree from the Volturi, now leads the search for her. They must find her before Alice's terrible vision comes true.
1. Chapter 1

_**Missing**_

Renesmée was about one year old, looked like she's five, and behaved like she's ten; Bree was to remain fifteen as long as she lived, and they were the best of friends. With Nessie's birthday drawing near, Alice was ecstatic over preparing for a party. Perhaps it's the magic that Renesmée brought to our lives: Rosalie, who used to be aloof from the rest of us, was collaborating with Alice for the celebration. But Bree was in a relatively somber mood; she stayed in her bedroom organizing a scrapbook and allowed no one to disturb her.

I wasn't worried, but as her new father, I couldn't help but be concerned. Although Bree was normally reserved and withdrawn, it was unlike her to just shut everyone out.

"She'll be fine, sweetheart," my wife Esme said to me. "She has six other brothers and sisters to look out for her."

That was true, although I couldn't count on Bella and Edward with a lot lately. Since their first anniversary, all they had done was locking up the cabin where they lived. I couldn't blame them; it had been an entire three hundred and sixty-five days since they had been bound by marriage: something that they both had desired for so long. But they hadn't even joined us in hunting since: they had a small refrigerator full of deer blood.

Our lives had been peaceful since the day the Volturi had spared Renesmée's life. The Quileute wolves had vowed to help us keep our territories safe from destructive forces; Jacob Black's connection with Renesmée was a significant factor. Meanwhile, we had everything we needed here.

With two girls to "raise", suddenly I felt like we had a real family at last. I liked that of all my children, Bree was the only one who called me "Papi", a name also used by Nessie.

Bree still needed some training in resisting human blood. Jasper and Edward estimated that it would take at least two more years before Bree could go to school again. Due to this, Bree somehow developed an inferiority complex; she was deeply jealous of her brothers and sisters, especially Bella and Renesmée. The boys and I had to restrain her during a fit of frustration at least once.

Bree hadn't had a fit of rage for a while now; while this was supposed to be a good omen, I couldn't be too easy when Bree locked herself in her bedroom one day and refused to at least answer through the door. "Bree," I called, "we're going hunting today. Would you like to come along?" I knocked on her door three more times. When she still didn't answer, I grew anxious.

"Darling, what are you doing?" asked Esme, when she saw me backing off the door without taking my eyes off it.

I didn't answer. With an animal cry, I leapt forward and kicked the door down. As I had suspected, Bree was no longer there.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Treasure Map**_

Bree's bedroom floor used to be littered with photographs and magazine clippings and scrapbook designs; now the bedroom was neat except for piles of old newspaper with highlights. The front page of one bore the news we all remembered: people mysteriously went missing in Seattle when Victoria was making an army of newborns. The news linked to a list of missing persons in another issue of the paper. Among these names was Bree Tanner, which was highlighted in pink.

"What's going on here?" asked Edward's voice.

I turned to the direction of the sound, and found the rest of my family looking bewildered at the doorway.

"How could you not know?" I snapped at Edward, who was taken aback.

"Calm down, both of you!" said Esme in that stern maternal tone I knew so well.

"Forgive me, son," I said, gently this time. "Your sister Bree is missing. Perhaps _you_ should have heard her thoughts and stopped her in time."

Edward was not able to answer at once. As I had presumed, he had been too busy "celebrating" with Bella and too used to the voices buzzing in his head to notice a troubled one in particular. He held his eyes down guiltily.

"Let's just get down to it: look for her," said Jasper urgently.

Everybody except Alice immediately crouched to look for clues among the newspaper sheets. Alice sat on the bed and tried to concentrate.

"I found something!" said Rosalie, handing a dirty old page to me.

The sheet turned out to have so many inkblots from what looked like teardrops surrounding a news column highlighted in orange:

Tanner parents found dead one week after daughter goes missing

"So that's why I see her going to Seattle," said Alice, who was looking over my shoulder.

"Then, you, Jasper, Emmett, and I would go there," I told Alice. "The rest of you, stay here in case Bree returns. Rose, Bella, Edward … I'm counting on you."

I would have preferred that Edward never had to hear me thinking how disappointed I was with him. I was no longer angry, but I terribly wished this could have been prevented; Bree wasn't ready to expose herself to humans.

We used Emmett's jeep to travel to Seattle, where we went straight to 15th Street, where Alice saw Bree in her vision. Emmett, Jasper and I hurried up the stairs, calling for Bree; Alice stayed next to the street sign, asking passersby about a girl with dark brown hair.

The doorknob to the Tanner apartment was broken; Bree had apparently kicked it open. The family's belongings had been thrown around, as though a thief had rummaged over it.

Suddenly, Jasper's cellphone rang. I didn't like the look on his face when he heard Alice shrieking through the speaker. "Carlisle—quick—the security room—" said Jasper.

As fast as our vampire legs could carry us, we headed downstairs, where surveillance videos were being monitored. To our horror, there lay a dead security guard, and Alice was wrestling with a _red-eyed_ Bree, who looked mad with bloodlust.

Emmett, Jasper and I advanced toward her, but Bree tossed Alice at us. The next thing we knew, she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Prodigal Daughter**_

The four of us were compelled to return to Forks. Bree was feeding on humans again and had become faster and stronger than us. Tracking her down was different from when we'd fought Victoria's army of newborns; we had fought to kill.

"I see her hitching a ride at a cargo ship to Russia, for some reason," said Alice, who was sitting in the living room scouring possible futures.

"Could you see why?" asked Edward.

Alice's face wrinkled with concentration. And then her eyes widened with terror. Her pupils were dilated. Alice let out a scream, like a child suffering in a nightmare.

"Alice!" called Jasper, holding her steady. Alice's breathing slowed; her eyes closed and then opened abruptly, as though she had awoken from a dream.

"Alice, come on, what did you see?" asked Bella impatiently.

"A werewolf," said Alice.

"What does Jacob …" began Renesmée.

"No—_Children of the Moon!_" shrieked Alice.

"Impossible—the Volturi killed them all!" said Rosalie.

"There could be a few left. James hunted one in Siberia, remember?" said Alice.

"There are probably a few left …" repeated Emmett thoughtfully.

"She is going to lead them here; is that what you saw?" I asked Alice.

Alice looked helplessly at me. She leaned against Jasper's shoulder and cried.

"I'm going to contact the Romanian coven … They live closest to where Bree is going; they could help us," said Esme.

"How about the Volturi?" suggested Rosalie.

"No," I said. "If they find out what Bree's up to, they'll kill her for sure. I'm not about to let that happen."

Jasper, Edward and Alice left that night to keep following Bree and try to prevent her from finding any werewolves, if she hadn't yet. Meanwhile, Renesmée visited La Push to ask for the wolf packs' help. Only Jacob's pack came to our house and volunteered to protect it and Forks; Sam Uley's stayed at La Push to protect their families.

"If only my shield works on physical attacks, too," said Bella.

"That's what we're here for, Bells," said Jacob Black.

"And you vampires have your own super strength at your disposal," added Seth Clearwater.

Only Leah said nothing, but I was sure she was about as confident as the rest of the pack. I would have preferred feeling the same, but I just couldn't be at ease knowing that Bree, Jasper, Edward and Alice were still out there. Without Edward and Alice, I felt helpless, not knowing what to expect.

Daylight shone upon the mountains, but it brought no promise of a happy fate for my children. It was uncharacteristic of me to be this pessimistic. Normally, I was my family's source of hope and encouragement; but as long as there was no sign of Bree and the others, I grew increasingly anxious.

I let the members of the pack sleep in the morning; the Children of the Moon turned back into their human forms in daytime. I had never encountered one before, but from the stories I heard during the years I spent with the Volturi, they were ferocious in wolf form, but vulnerable once they transform back. They wouldn't even remember attacking anyone.

After five days, Alice, Edward and Jasper returned with Bree and a young man with strawberry blond hair and striking icy gray eyes. Bree and the stranger were both under Jasper's control. The young man's arms were each held by Edward and Jasper. Esme and I hugged Bree; we were both so happy that we initially didn't mind that she didn't reciprocate our gesture. "Darling, don't ever do that again!" I cried.

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Bree spitefully. That was when I noticed that her irises were still red. "If it weren't for _her_"—she nodded toward Bella—"and your irrational kindness toward her, she wouldn't have been there when Victoria's coven passed by. James wouldn't have died and compelled Victoria to make me a vampire. My parents would still be alive! YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!"

That scream broke Jasper's concentration and freed Bree, who sprang forward and landed on Bella. Strangling her, Bree shrieked: "YOU killed my parents! YOU ruined my LIFE!"

"Bree, stop it!" roared Emmett, who pulled Bree from Bella, who was speechless on the floor. Rosalie rushed to her side.

"If it weren't for my irrational kindness, _you_ wouldn't be alive!" I said to Bree.

An unfamiliar voice spoke, reminding me that we had a stranger in the house. The young man had to be no older than any of my other children. His bedraggled appearance made him look weary and aged. Frightened, he was speaking to me in what I recognized to be an Eastern European dialect. He was almost as tall and muscular as Edward or Jasper, but from what I estimated to be several months—if not years—of malnutrition and fatigue, his frame looked shriveled.

"Let's put him in the basement," suggested Jasper.

"We let him freshen up first," I told him firmly. "Do you speak German?" I asked the stranger, in German.

"Yes," he replied, "but not very well."

"Do you understand English?"

"My English is worse, sir," he said in English, with a heavy accent.

"I'm sure this is sufficient," I said in German again. "What is your name?"

"Žarko*," he said. "Please … What is going on? Why did you take me here? I want to go home!"

"I'm afraid we can't just let you go, Žarko," I said soothingly, "not with your condition. You are aware of that, aren't you?"

Žarko hung his head and nodded.

"If you promise you will not escape or make trouble, I'll let you freshen up before we put you and Bree in the basement," I told him.

"I'll be good," he said.

"Good," I said.

"What now?" asked Edward.

"Please, escort Žarko to the bathroom and lend him clothes before taking him to the basement," I said. Then, I rounded on Bree. "As for you," I said. But I wasn't able to quite stay angry with her. Sighing, I continued, "Bree, I love you, as I love your brothers and sisters. But this is out of line! You will stay in the basement whether you like it or not!"

Bree struggled even as Emmett effortlessly carried her to the basement.

Weary, I sat on the couch and rested my head on my hands. By then, each of my other children had retreated to their bedrooms. "Esme, please, tell Jacob and his friends to go home. We have everything under control now," I said.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" asked Esme.

I tried to smile, but it wasn't convincing enough. "I'm just staying here, I promise."

Satisfied, Esme left the room.

* Ž is pronounced with the "zh" sound, like Zhang Ziyi.


	4. Chapter 4

More Uninvited Guests

The following morning, Jacob Black and Leah and Seth Clearwater had breakfast at our house. Jacob didn't have to say it at all; I knew at once that he was checking up on Renesmée, and Leah and Seth were just there to make sure he won't make trouble. Like many of us, they were also afraid of Žarko, who certainly looked harmless as he enjoyed the pancakes I had prepared for him, Renesmée, and Jacob and his comrades.

"Full moon is _next month_," Žarko told Jacob, when he grew irritated with his staring.

Jacob turned to Leah, who gave him a reproachful look. After that, Jacob eyeballed me, as if demanding whose big idea was it to accommodate a monster into my house.

"Carlisle," said Edward softly, grasping my arm. "I've been keeping watch on Bree's thoughts. At the moment, she's clueless as to what to do. She still seems determined to punish us, but she's not going to use the werewolf anymore. She'd even let us let him go, but I don't quite approve of setting him loose on humans, either."

"I agree," I told him.

"We could just bring him back where he came from," said Rosalie casually, not far from us.

"Where _did_ you come from?" Jacob asked Žarko.

"Serbia," replied Žarko, "but I stray so much I lost."

"Where is Serbia?" asked Seth innocently.

"He came all the way from Eastern Europe?" asked Leah, at the same time answering Seth.

"That explains the funny accent," commented Jacob.

Edward suddenly gasped, his amber eyes widening as though he had heard shocking news. "How did they know? They're—They're coming!"

"Who is coming?" asked Jacob and Leah.

"Daddy, I don't like that look," whimpered Renesmée, who hugged her father around the waist.

"The Volturi are coming for Bree and the werewolf," said Edward.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" shrieked Alice.

"We know, Alice. …" I said wearily.

I heard soft sobs not far from us. At the bottom of the stairs near the kitchen, Bree was crying with guilt and fear. "Look what you've done!" barked Edward. This time, I didn't reprove him.

Moments later, someone knocked on our door. There stood Demetri, one of the most prized members of the Volturi Guard, and also the Volturi's official tracker. "Your brat was _almost_ good at catching Children of the Moon; the moon unfortunately had to wane before she was able to bring the creature to your little coven," he said smoothly. "I saw your boys taking the creature down."

I was stung when he called Bree a brat, even if it was true. "What do you intend to do?" I asked.

"How about you meet us at the clearing where you made war with Victoria's newborns?" Demetri grinned malevolently at me. I tried to hide my anxiety. Having lived with this powerful clan of vampires for a few decades before meeting Edward, I knew by now that along with their love for the arts and sciences, the Volturi also had a knack for cruel theatrics like this. I didn't need to be told that they were intending to slay Bree once and for all, right where she was supposed to have died.

Demetri's ruby-red eyes glanced at my family behind me, as well as Jacob, who carried Renesmée in his arms protectively. "You are welcome to bring all of them and your shape-shifter friends." Demetri gave a courtly bow and then left.

The Volturi tracker's invitation was like a death sentence in itself for Bree, who kept sobbing hysterically. Nobody bothered to comfort her except Nessie, who gave Bree a hug. "You're still my sister—my best friend."

As everyone else prepared to meet the Volturi, I embraced Bree. "Nothing has changed about how I feel for you," I said. "You're going to get out of this alive."

Nearby, Žarko was eyeing the open door angrily. "Those demons killed my family," he said softly in German. "But only I was the monster. I was too lucky to have escaped."

"Žarko, forgive me!" said Bree suddenly. "I have sacrificed you. How cruel of me!"

When Žarko looked bewildered, apparently not catching the words she had said, Bree got up and held his hands, so fast that Žarko wasn't able to pull away soon enough. When he still didn't understand, Bree put her hand over her heart. "I'm sorry … so sorry," she reiterated.

Žarko seemed to understand; his face softened, and he nodded.

I guessed that Bree and Žarko had had a little conversation during the night. The hostility between vampire and werewolf seemed absent between them. Perhaps it was being formerly human that they'd agreed on.

Jacob, Leah and Seth stayed in the house with Renesmée while my family and our "guest" went to the clearing that had been our battlefield. Nearly all of us wanted to escape, but there was no way out of it except somehow evade the Volturi; it had been pure luck that had spared Bree's and Renesmée's lives each time he had encountered the Volturi.

Black-cloaked figures dotted the green clearing that Demetri had indicated.

"Ah, my friends," greeted Aro, once we were at the rendezvous. "Why, I must say I am impressed with you Carlisle. Your compassionate nature and abstinence from human blood is strange enough for any of us! Now, you keep a Creature of the Moon in your household!"

"The moon had waned by the time my sons had captured him," I said stiffly as Aro took my hand as if to greet me. But as anyone in my family would know, he was really telepathic like Edward, except that while Edward could read many current thoughts at the same time up to a certain distance, Aro required tactile contact, from which he could see every thought one had ever had.

My heart sank when Aro's eyes shifted toward Bree. "Haven't you ever explained the laws of our kind to your daughter?" demanded Aro.

"Had her attempt become successful, she herself would have been killed by the werewolf anyway; it could have been a suicide mission aimed to avenge her own parents' demise," I explained.

"Foolish girl," said Caius, the young and blond one of Aro's companions.

"She had been foolish even on our first encounter," remarked Jane, who was flanked by her twin brother Alec, and Demetri. "You never learn to keep your head down, do you? You should have kept watch; an axe might as well have swung across it."

Bree cringed at the memory of Jane torturing her with illusions of pain.

"Aro," I said, "she is as much of a daughter to me as the others. It has only been a year since we'd taken her in. She has much to learn. … And anyway, _I_ am the leader of this coven."

Aro tried to smile at me kindly, but he seemed only too eager to execute my daughter. "It was bad enough that she participated in the army of newborns. We would have executed her for that offense alone if it weren't for our respect for you. Sadly, another offense is one too many. Sending a werewolf to kill those of her own kind is even worse than the one previous."

I looked at my family behind me. Only Esme was weeping. Bree was coming forward. "Papi, he is right," said Bree softly.

I couldn't dare say no in front of the Volturi, whose power was a hundredfold more than mine. I wanted to offer my life in exchange for hers, but the Volturi was also very specific: without due cause, there was nothing they would do to harm me.

I was shaking, struggling to stop myself from interrupting Aro and rouse his ire. My brave Bree faced Aro, who gently touched her cheeks and smiled at her. "Why avenge your family if you can be with them again, right?" he said to her. Now, he grasped her head, ready to twist it.

"Wait!" I said. "I wasn't finished. I am the leader of this coven, the head of this family. This was an internal matter, and you have nothing to do this! Enough lives were lost."

"The werewolf can kill you and your family," argued Caius.

"You are only afraid of them because one almost killed you; otherwise, you wouldn't have cared how many humans they've killed."

"Then, what do you intend to do with him?" asked Aro.

"Send him to a place where humans couldn't be found within every ten thousand miles," I said.

"What do you think, Marcus?—Aro?" asked Caius, without looking away from me.

"Clearly, your ways are not our ways," said Marcus quietly.

"Your gestures of compassion would forever be a mystery for us, Carlisle," added Caius. "But you have our respect. You make the decisions for your coven."

"You take over from here," said Aro.

"Let's go home," said Marcus.

Jane, Alec and Demetri looked deeply dissatisfied, but orders were orders. They had no business here anymore.

"If you're going to exile Žarko, let me come with him," said Bree, her head hung low.

"Bree …" I began to argue, but she stopped me:

"I don't belong here anymore. I'll be forever grateful for you saving me life twice. But I've caused enough grief. I love you, Papi. Goodbye."


End file.
